NYAH school children have celebrated their first Walk to School Day on a new council-funded footpath.
Nyah District Primary School holds a Walk to School Day every term to teach students road and pedestrian safety as well as encourage an active lifestyle.
Junior primary teacher Pamela Paynter said her favourite part of the day was connecting with families.
“We get to come together on a beautiful morning and socialise with parents and students,” Mrs Paynter said.
The students were focused on staying on the path and off the road and stopping at intersections along the way.
Swan Hill Rural City councillor Bill Moar spoke to the students about the importance of respecting public property so that everyone could use it, before they walked to school together.
Cr Moar told The Guardian the new footpath was an important community asset which gave both school children and senior citizens a safe path to the city centre.
The path runs from the Nyah Aged Care Facility to the CFS station, at a distance from Monash Avenue which goes into the centre of town.
Students will be able to walk between school and the swimming pool, and senior citizens can travel safely on an even ground to the town centre.
“Nyah has an ageing population and many senior citizens use walkers and gofers so it’s important that they have this path so they can get out and socialise and get into town,” Cr Moar said.
The project, undertaken as part of the council’s Missing Links Strategy, was led by a grassroots action group which Cr Moar said helped with obtaining funding and approval.
“If there’s no pushback on a project then it makes it a much quicker process,” he said.
The development of the path is part of the council’s ongoing strategy focused on liveability and community wellbeing.
